Meditation on Matthew 11:28-30: The Gentle Ministry of Christ
by A Sinner
Summary: A short meditation on finding comfort in Christ and in His Word during trying times. This is also a gentle reminder to seek God's help when He seems far away. Disclaimer: I am 18 years old and am Roman Catholic. Although I will be entering the seminary in late August, the meditations I publish on this website to not reflect anyones views but my own.


**Hello! It's been too long since I've posted anything, but I haven't been able to think of anything to write about. This one's shorter than my other meditations but I guess that's what happens when you write about a shorter verse. I'm trying to find a way to put all of these entries into one big story, but I can't figure out how to do separate chapters, so this is how it will be for now. Please, take the time to rate and review what I write. I like to know that people care about what I have to say. Also, if you tell me what you think, I'll know whether or not I should keep going with this. Thank you and God bless.**

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 _"Come to me, all you who labor and are_

 _burdened, and I will give you rest._

 _Take my yoke upon your shoulders and_

 _learn from me, for I am meek and humble_

 _of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves._

 _For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." -Matthew 12:28-30_

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Hello everyone! Before you read this, take some time to slowly read the verse from Matthew's Gospel. Really think about this verse and how it applies to you here and now.

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In the first verse of this small reading, Jesus offers us some words of comfort. He tells us, all of us who labor and are burdened to come to Him and that He will give us rest. You know, we all have our individual burdens. Many of us have family members who are rather hard to deal with at times. Others among us have drama in our lives that we find hard to deal with. Yet, others like myself struggle with certain sins (hence my pen name; A Sinner) that just won't go away no matter what we do. We all have our burdens that we must learn to deal with in our lives. Sure, we can try to push through it on our own, saying "I'm not some little child anymore. I can get through this on my own." We need to remember that in the eyes of God, we are like little children. Sure, you may be older than eighteen, but you are still a child of God no matter how old you are. That said, go to Him for help. Do not be afraid of praying to God to help. The only way through which we can receive the rest that Jesus promises to give us is to go to Him and say "Jesus, I need your help." As Jesus said in another part of the Gospels, "Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find." All we have to do is ask, and we will receive help from God. God might not help us immediately, however. He wants us to trust in Him during these trying times you may be going through. We don't know what's going to happen during these times. We might feel like we are losing faith when in reality we're afraid of the future and what it holds. Try that. Next time, when you are afraid, or when you have gotten in way over your head, say this simple prayer: "Jesus, I trust in You."

"Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." This verse is a little harder to understand. What is the yoke that Jesus is talking about? Looking at the notes in my Bible, Jesus is talking about the yoke of obedience to His Word, under which they will find rest. In Biblical times, a yoke was put on the shoulders of an animal, like oxen for example to keep them together so that they could pull a plow or other piece of equipment. The farmer forced the animal to take up this yoke and do very strenuous work for him. But, Jesus doesn't force us to take up this yoke. We voluntarily do so. Jesus invites us, the burdened to take up this yoke of obedience under which we will find rest. Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light. By taking up this yoke, we find rest. By taking up this yoke, we put God in control of our problems, which is what we need to do.

By coming to God with our problems, we find comfort. By trying to deal with them on our own, we have the potential to make things even worse. Also, we can find peace and comfort in God's Word. This is what this Gospel passage says to me, but different people learn different things from the Gospel depending on their current situation in life. Please, my friends, pray for me as I will pray for all of you.

Mary, Mother of God, Refuge of the Afflicted and Help of Christians, pray for us.

O sweet, gentle Jesus have mercy on us.

God bless,

A Sinner


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